Kathmandu, February 20

The former ambassadors of Nepal have emphasised on moving forward with the development of infrastructure projects alongside regular branding for the promotion of Nepal's tourism. Stating that there is a huge potential for tourism in the country but Nepal has not been able to make the most of it, they have stressed on the need of coordination between the Nepali embassies abroad, the Ministry of Tourism, the Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) and Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) to attract more foreign tourists.

Speaking at a programme organised by NTB, NRNA and Europe-Nepal Chamber of Commerce for Tourism, Minister for Tourism Sudan Kiranti consolidated the suggestions of the former ambassadors and said that the ministry will make policy arrangements and necessary cooperation in the future.

Secretary of the ministry, Suresh Adhikari, said that since the ministry is in the process of amending policies and acts, the demands of the diplomatic sector and businessmen are expected to be addressed after the amendment.

Former ambassadors Suresh Chandra Chalise, Mohan Krishna Shrestha, Madhurman Acharya, Lucky Sherpa, Anjan Shakya, among others, said that tourism is an important sector for the economic development of Nepal and suggested the ministry and the authorities concerned to decide on the branding strategy in different countries accordingly.

Som Sapkota, chairman of NRNA, Nepal Tourism Promotion Committee, informed that the programme had been organised with the expectation that it will facilitate tourism promotion of Nepal in the days ahead.

Similarly, Laxman Gautam, acting market director of NTB, informed about the work being done by the board for tourism promotion and emphasised on policy clarity and unified system for tourism development in Nepal.

Furthermore, a 10-point declaration for coordination and cooperation for the promotion of tourism in Nepal titled 'Advancing Nepal's Tourism Industry: Collaborating for Success' was also issued during the programme.

As per the declaration, it has been decided to create a network of international tourism organisations and businesses that share a particular interest in Nepal and an integrated network of Nepal's tourism entrepreneurs, authorised bodies, and those who reside abroad.

Similarly, an agreement has been reached to create a global B2B channel by linking the above two networks with the help of the NRN network and diplomatic missions abroad to provide targeted business networks abroad to tourism businesses in Nepal, and therefore avoiding the need to participate in expensive travel fairs.

Decisions have been made to build consensus on listing and prioritising tourism promotion-related issues; periodically address major issues faced by the tourism industry and its stakeholders on a priority basis and implement the agreed ideas. It has also been agreed to organise virtual meetings of the committee on a regular basis to assess the progress on the agreed actions, discuss newly emerged ideas, concerns and issues, and re-prioritising them.

Other points include fostering the potential of tourism diplomacy in a holistic approach using G2G linkage by having bilateral consultation for shared benefit; rebuilding the image of Nepal after the COVID 19 and recent Pokhara air crash incidents with focused initiatives targeting low hanging fruits markets, that is, China, India and the Buddhist population in Asia.

'Emphasis should also be on building clean and green tourism with clear marketing strategies with their preference, taste and priorities.'

Other points include targeting the middle-east market with provision of luxurious tourism packages as the new road map for high end tourists; synthesise and disseminate the narratives of destination using tailor-made and sectoral strategic communication approach with local facts and knowledge that is clearly and creatively communicated to target markets.

A version of this article appears in the print on February 21, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.